George h



(No Model.)

G. E. EEEEINGT'ON.

METHOD 0E RECORDING. SPEECH.

No. 397,856. I Patented Feb. 12,1889.

'n UNTED Sierrasv drones H. nERR1NG'ros,0r wlonrra,

EDVARD' l-l. JOHNSON,

PATENT OFFICE,

KANsAs, Assiexou 'ro' inlassen, AND or New vaan, N. v

METHOD oF RECORDING sPEEci-n SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 397,856, dated February 12, 1889. Applicstgntded June 18@887. Serial No. 241,796. '(.No morleid To all whom, it mag/ conce'm Beitknown that I, GeoRGE H. HERRING'roN, of Wichita, in the county ofSedgwick and State of Kansas, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Phonographs, of

which the following is a spcciication.

In my application filed September ll, i886,V is set forth a processofrecording sound-vibrations by softening a material, passing it un- Ioder the needle of a phonograph, and then al lowing it to cool. In theapplication referred to I described the use as the recording medium of amaterial capable of being softened by heat and hardening when cooled.

I5 My present invention relates to anothe specific process to the sameend, one of whose advantages is that the appliances required for heatingand cooling the material are dispensed with.

My :improvement consists, mainly, in the employment as a recordingmedium of a material which is softened by a chemical soli/cnt beforepassing under the vioratingt'reedle,

and afterward hardens as it dries.

I prefer to place the material upon the sur- `face of a thin flexiblestrip, which is fed by suitable mechanism from a drum on one side of theapparatus to one on the other side, passing under the vibrating needle,and before reaching such needle coming in contact with the solvent.Suitable materials for the purpose are celluloid, glue, wax,'n1olasses,pitch, asphalt, or various glutinous or resinous substances, or two ormore of such substances in combination. A compound which I have -foundespecially advantageous is one of celluloid -mixed with a smallerquantity of molasses and beeswax, thecelluloid and beeswax beingdissolved with ether or other suitable sol vents .4.0 -before mixing."This mixture. I then spread evenly on a stri p ofpape-'norothersuitablesurface and. allow lit. to dry hard, and thenfinish it with as smooth a surface as possible. An-

.othcr combination which I haye used to great advantage is one of glue,molasses, and wax, applied in a similar manne.' hatjust described. Thisforms a particularly smooth and glossy surface, and prevents largely theharsh grating sound, which is an objection when tin-foil is used. l

I employ solvents suitable for the particular material used. Forinstalce, with celluloid I may use ether, with glue, and water, whichmaybe heated, or with other materials alcohol, ammonia, or acetic acid,the proper solvent being employed for thc material used,as will bereadily understood.

Convenient apparatus for carrying my invention into eifect isillust-rated in the accompanying drawings.

Figure l illustrates a form ol apparatus in which the strip is passedthrough a bath of the solvent. Fig. 2 illustrates a form in which thesolvent is applied by means lof a brush, and Fig. 3 is a view of aportion of the strip. 65

In Fig. 1, A represents a suitable inclosing box or case. B is a vesselcontaining the solv ent. C is the mouth-piece or ear-piece, a; vthe`.'diaphragm, and b the vibrating point or needle. D is a spool or drumcarrying the strip 7o c, on which the sound-vibrations are to berecorded. This is a strip of paper or other Vsuitable iiexible materialof sufficient strength for the'purpose, and is covered with the solublesubstance d, Fig. 3, such as above de'- 75 scribed. This strip passesover .a roller, e, and then over the two rollers f f in lthe vessel B,under the surface of the liquid, then over the Vroller g, which bringsit directly under the needle, and, iinally, to the vreceiving drum orS'o spool E, on which it is wound, this drumheing revolved by a sprin gor any suitable motor,

as indicated, so as to move the strip when in operation continuouslyalong underthe needle.

As the strip passes through the solvent its surface is softened by theact-ion thereof, so

that it readily receives the impressions of the needle as it. vibra-tesin accordance with sound-vibrations projected against the diaphragm. Thedrum E. is placed atasufticient 9o distance, s othatthe surface driesbefore "the strip is wound thereon. The surface of course hai-dens as itdries, so that -the Impressums remain' permanently thereon.

The drums are prefernbl y removable, so' that 9'5 the drum, with therecord upon it, may be removed, and suchrecord may be' reproduced by'placing thedrum in a similar machine, of

course with't-hesolvent omitted, and passing it under the needle.

In the form shown. in Fig. 2 the strip c passes from the spool D to thespool E under ICO `1owhich vessel contains the solvent.

aperture in the bottom E the vessel4 a porous the needle, as before. TheVessel and the rollers therein are omitted, and the strip passesdirectly from a roller, 71, supported on the side of thecase to theroller g under the diaphragm.

5 Between the 'rollers hand'g a brush, fi, rests lightlyT on the top ofthe. strip. In this case this brush takes. the'place of thevessel ofFig; 1 as the receptacle for the solvent. A

' vessel, k, is supported by the top of tliebox, 'From an body, Z, whichis preferably a mass'of iibrous or spongy material-as wicking orspongehangs down and rests on the brush 2'-, whereby the brush-is keptconstantly provided with the solvent. The traveling strip is therefore.I l continually moistened with' ,the liquid as it moves and reaches theneedle, with its surface in the desired soft and impressible condition.

v4o I prefer to provide the 'brush with a handle,

, 711,-'pi'vete at .1. and passing through aslotin the side of the ease,whereby when the machine is not in use, or when it is in use forreproducing sound,the strip may ige l{removes} from contact withthesolvent bylpressing down on the projecting handle. A spring.'n

catch', o, is preferablyprovided for'liolding brush away from the strip.The drum E is turned by a switable motor, as before.

Ido not claim herein'the method'of record-V 3:5V

ing sounds by softening the record i-i1g medinm, passing it through therecording-instru"-V `ment while ,in vsuch softened condition, and "thenallowing it to harden to set the impressions, since this is claimed inmy prior application, filed Septemberll, 1886;

That I claim isj y l. The methodherein, described of making a permanentrecord of Vibrations,.whieh conf .siste in softening a body 'of materialby age.

chemical solvent, passing the same through 'the recording-instrumentwhile itis in a softened condition, and then allowing it to harden, 2.The method of recording phonetic vibra-l tions, which consists incovering a strip of material with a substance capable of being 'softenedby. achemical solvent, subjecting:

said substance to the action of snch solvent, passing itin its softenedcondition under the vibrating point of a phonograph, :and after- 5ovCbrrectlon m Letters' Pa'tet No. 397,856

` It is hereby eertiied that Letters Ptent .-397, 856, granted February12V, 1889, upon the application of George Harrington, TViehiggti Kansas,.for a-n improie- 4ment'in1 \`athod of Recording Speech,4 an errorppears in the printed spdeication requiring the 'folloiwing correction,viz: On page 1, 53, the Word and should be stricken out and that the'said Lette-re Patent should be read. with this correction thereinA thatthe samejmafj eonformftothe record .of the'ease in the Patent Ofiee.`Signed, oountersigned, Yand sealed this of February, A. D. 1889.

' L,v HAWKIN S,

AAssals'tant Secretztry of ,the Inte-rior.

[SEALY Countergigned:

BEN'roN J HALL,

Gommz'ssmwr of Pdtenta.

